WHITIRY FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 1985 PAGE 5 "I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man." - Thomas Jefferson THE CROW'S NEST by Michael Knell David Peterson's fledgling Liberal government in Queen's Park brought down its first budget last week and while I wasn't exactly impressed, I have to give both the Premier and Treasurer Bob Nixon at least one round of applause for at least making a good effort. Perhaps the thing Iliked best about the budget is that neither labor nor business liked it very much. If nothing else, the reaction from both of those knee-jerk, highly reactionary, pressure groups shovwis that Peterson isn't about to get embraced by their loving arms. If he can keep at arm's length from business and labor while ap- preciating their collective and individual concerns, he will go a long way to proving himself one of the best Premiers of this century. While most of us have complained long and hard about the increasng in the so-called 'sin' taxes and the increase in the provincial personal income tax we really shouldn't be all that surprised. Peterson inherited a government whose financial house was a complete and utter shambles (and that is very ironie con- sidering the government of the last 42 years was supposedly a follower of the ef- ficiencies and cost effectiveness of private entreprise). He had taken over a government that owns $2 billion (or more) in land that is doing nothing; that paid $650 for 25 percent of Suncor, only to discover that four years later the best price that could be had for those shares is $160 million; that allowed its largest Crown corporation - namely Ontario Hydro - to accumulate a debt of $22 billion - all while refusing to pass freedom of information legislation, allowing the Spills Bill to go unpassed and saying one thing about rent control while doing another. At least this budget makes an attempt to do some positive things. The money set aside to develop low-cost, non-profit housing is an excellent move, despite the fact that it will not solve the problem. It will make a small dent in the demand for affordable housing in Ontario, but it will not solve the problem. Its short term job creation problem for young people will undoubtedly help many of our chronically unemployed youth but until the federal government develops concrete creation policies with the money to carry them out, any provincial initiative can only be a stop-gap measure. However, the Peter- son/Nixon youth job creation program has an excellent feature about it - it requires young people to complete their education as part of the program. Most young people are unemployed because they lack certain skills. Peterson's government has finally recognized this and made academie upgrading part of a job creation program. Applause. Applause. The Peterson government's first budget won't be a history making one. They are too new in their roles on the government side of house to make an im- mediate splash. The more important budget will be the one Nixon tables next spring. You never know, the Liberals just might have the guts to bite the bullet and tell the rest of us just exactly what's wrong with this province, and its economy, and then dish out the bitter medicine to cure our ills. But they had to make some sort of statement and what we saw last week was a glimpse of how David Peterson and Bob Nixon think. While they may be Liberals, especially in terms of social and justice policy, they are essentially small c' conservatives. They believe in fiscal prudence. Money spent must show a return or a result, if you will. They're not going to spend money just for the sake of doing so. I'm also convinced that Peterson is smart enough to realize that one thing he's got to do before the next budget comes down is take control of Crown cor- porations such as Ontario Hydro and IDEA Corp. and force them to stop their deficit spending. He's also going to have to decide whether or not the gover- nment should be in the land banking business. And if they're not, it wouldn't surprise me to see Peterson return land (such as that in Pickering) to its original owners or put it on the open market and then use the money to reduce the government's debt. Both Peterson and Nixon are capable of innovative, independant and creative political thought. They tend not to be ruled by the banalities of the past. In other words, they may have some common ground with them, but they definitely aren't Tories. I was also disappointed in the Tories reaction to the budget. Instead of coming out and forcefully attacking the budget and offering policy options of their own, the Tories have been pretty mute on the whole subject. Furthermore, the Tories are currently so disinterested in the process of government these days that the three men seeking their party leadership weren't even in the Legislature on Budget Day. They were off debating on television somewhere. Grossman, Tim- brell and Pope are still MPPs - they are still obliged to represent their con- stituencies which means that they should be taking an active interest in the process of government, iLe., they should show up in the House once in a while. But we must also remember that the Tories' ego has been bruised and they aren't about to take an interest in government until they get bà ck behind the driver's wheel. Unfortunately for them, the Liberals could prove themselves to be a more than adequate government. So while the Tories are busy ignoring everything around them, the Peterson Liberals are taking full advantage of every oppor- tunity available to them to prove that they have the talent to govern Ontario. It wasn't a great budget, but it was an adequate budget. It has its faults and in rhany areas it falls short of the mark. But it's a good beginning. It's a budget that gives Peterson a base on which to build his credentials as Permier. If his next budget is better than this, if he keeps to his legislative timetable, Peterson will start a political dynasty of his own - a dynasty that will keep the ego bruised power drunk Tories in the political wilderness for a long time. WITH OUR FEET UP By Bill Swan The office at the Brooklin Veterinary Hospital smells of medicine and urine. On the walls hang pic- tures of dogs as dogs should look, and a bulletin board to which are pinned cartoons. Of pets, of course. As waiting rooms go it is much like any other. Granted, the magazine collection is a little sparse, and restricted to speciality publications about show dogs. Not that Buckwheat will ever have to worry about being a show dog. His problem right now -- besides the cat in the arms of the girl in the next chair - consists of the patch of fur on his neck that has fallen out. If he were a show dog, that certainly would put his career on hold But the canine eczema amounts to only part of his problem. The other, even more em- barrassing, has occurred before: nasal discharge and sneezing. We are sitting right by the door, and Bucky's preoccupation lies with escape, if possible. But the leash is too tight. An older couple enter, both in the perhaps mid- fifties, maybe older, maybe younger. They have in tow a larger dog of uncertain ancestry, with mottled fur and a stiffened gait. Buckwheat ignores the older dog and concen- trates on his whining. We've been here before for the same problems. I once joked to others about the allergies I shared with this dog. But right now Buckwheat finds the familiarity of the vet's waiting room more compelling than the cat in the next chair. He whines, in fear. He remembers the sounds, the smells, the metallic examining table. The needle, too. So he whines, just as he did all the way to Brooklin in the car. The worst part of sharing a small car with a big dog is the dog breath. The next worse: the whining. This dog weighs about sixty pounds. His father was a German Shepherd and his mother a non- descript hound. He came into our life nine years ago when a graduating student of mine had a bitch with a litter. I got pick of the litter. That's Buckwheat. He was named by a seven-year-old who promised to sleep with him and feed him and clean up after him and even then I guess we didn't believe any of that. The seven-year-old is now six-foot two and the dog still sleeps on the floor by his bed. A few of the minor parts of dog ownership fail on me: the twenty minute morning walks, the brushings, the bathing, cleaning up the deposits on the lawn. And, of course, the visits to the vet, including writing the cheque at the end of it. While driving to the vets that afternoon, I thought about nine years of pet ownership. Perhaps, I hoped, he will have some fatal malady. We will have to put him to sleep. No more lawn to clean up; no more morning walks. Twenty minutes more sleepeach day would be a joy. As I was thinking that, Bucky licked my right ear and almost put us in the ditch. Dogs are like that. Just.in cost alone, tne thought of not owning a dog makes sense. Twice, three times a year we visit the vet. A hundred dollars, maybe more. Then the food. Twenty kilograms (44 pounds) every month or so. Already he's a $500-a-year pet. If the cat were worth that I'd have him bronzed. So we sit and wait. Bucky never notices the cat until the owner stands up to go into the examining room. The older dog, now sitting by his owners in the far corner, fails even to follow the cat with his eyes. I can see he moves with pain. The couple sit by him, arms on their knees, looking at the floor. "How old is he?" I asked. "Twelve," replied the man. But his answer was hesitant, his voice gravelly, and I knew he did not want to talk. He looked once at his wife, and then they both looked at the dog and then out the window. The vet called me than, and Bucky and I escaped to the metallic examining table. What transpired then confirmed that yet, dogs do get allergies and do suffer from eczema. Pills and salve, and a return bout in two weeks. We returned to the waiting room. The big trick at this point, while we stand at the counter waiting for the receptionist to add up the bill, consists of blocking Bucky's attempts to make editorial statements on the counter. He's done it before, and it is no accident that the waiting room smells like medicine and urine. Now you know where the urine comes from. Sec Page 12 -- -1 . ---- -- - W"